Educational Science

Giant meat-eating dinosaur had a fancy skull and wee arms like T. rex

A newfound species of carnivorous dinosaur had disproportionately small arms, suggesting that this particular anatomical quirk — shared by the mighty but flimsy-armed Tyrannosaurus rex — may have been more common among large predatory dinosaurs than previously thought. The newly described species, Meraxes gigas, is named after the dragon Meraxes...

First Gorgosaurus to hit auction block may sell for $8 million

The first specimen of the meat-eating dinosaur Gorgosaurus to ever hit the auction block will go before bidders in New York City on July 28, according to Sotheby's auction house. Gorgosaurus, an apex predator, lived from 80 million to 73 million years ago, millions of years before its more famous...

Triops are a group of freshwater crustaceans commonly called tadpole shrimp or dinosaur shrimp. They look like ancient armored tadpoles, a look they've rocked for hundreds of millions of years. The word Triops means three eyes in Greek, and the group is so named because they have two main compound...

T. rex and its close relatives were warm-blooded like modern birds

Birds keep themselves warm with heat generated by some of the most hard-working metabolisms on the planet, while lizards rely on the sun to keep them toasty. Both of these groups are linked to dinosaurs, and because of this, paleontologists have long wondered if dinosaurs had so-called cold-blooded metabolisms like...

Dinosaurs took over the planet because they could endure the cold, scientists say

Dinosaurs took over the planet thanks to their surprising ability to endure freezing-cold temperatures, ancient footprints have revealed. The dinosaur tracks, stamped into the sandstone and siltstone of ancient lake beds in the Junggar Basin of northwestern China, suggest that more than 200 million years ago, the reptiles had already...

How did ‘Prehistoric Planet’ create such incredible dinosaurs? Find out in a behind-the-scenes peek.

Prehistoric Planet sends viewers back in time on a guided tour of the Cretaceous period with Sir David Attenborough, in a documentary series that reimagines familiar dinosaurs such as the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex and introduces lesser-known creatures like the charming owl-like Mononykus. The show portrays the extinct creatures moving and...

Crocodile-faced dinosaur may have been Europe’s largest ever predator

An enormous crocodile-faced, spiny-backed dinosaur that prowled what is now England roughly 125 million years ago was one of the largest predatory animals to ever stalk across Europe. Paleontologists unearthed the remains of this behemoth on the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of England. The researchers nicknamed the...

Dinosaur 'reaper' with massive claws found in Japan

Millions of years ago, a bipedal dinosaur with knives for fingers stalked the shores of the Asian continent. But those Edward Scissorhandslike weapons were used for slashing vegetation rather than eviscerating animal prey, according to a new study. The dinosaur belonged to a group known as therizinosaurs — bipedal and...

Here's how paleontologists rate 'Jurassic World: Dominion' (Video)

When dinosaur fans flock to theaters on Thursday (June 9) to see Jurassic World: Dominion (Universal Pictures, 2022), they'll be mesmerized by myriad prehistoric beasts. But how do these paleo-creatures, and the film's scientific facts in general, stack up against what's known by real-world paleontologists? To find out, Live Science...

How little, furry mammals that scurried under dinosaurs' feet came to rule the world

Shortly after dinosaurs got their start during the Triassic period, little furry mammals began scurrying underfoot, using their powerful teeth to chomp down on plants, insects and even — eventually — dinosaurs. But how did these warm-blooded creatures arise? How did they survive the giant asteroid that slammed into Earth...